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Grandsire

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Grandsire

Grandsire is one of the standard change ringing methods, which are methods of ringing church bells or handbells using a series of mathematical permutations rather than using a melody. The grandsire method is usually rung on an odd number of bells: Grandsire doubles is rung on five working bells, grandsire triples on seven, grandsire caters on nine and grandsire cinques on eleven. Like all odd-bell methods, where there are sufficient bells, it is normally rung with a "cover" bell, which stays in the last position in each row to add musicality.

Grandsire, like Plain Bob, is based on a simple deviation to the plain hunt when the treble (bell No.1) is first in the sequence or it is said to "lead". The treble is known as the "hunt bell" because it hunts continuously without ever deviating from the path. The diagram for the plain course is shown here.

The Grandsire variation on the plain hunt on odd numbers adds a second hunt bell, which is "coursing" the treble: that is, the second hunt bell takes its place at the front of the change immediately after the treble. The single deviation away from hunting for the rest of the bells now takes place as the two hunt bells change places at the front of the lead.

Furthermore, because there are two hunt bells, not the second bell but the third remains in place:

This forces a dodge on the other bells in 4/5 positions. After this the bells immediately return to the plain hunt pattern until the next treble lead.

This rule can now be extended to any number of odd bells in changes, making Grandsire an easily extendable method. The hunt bell is changed many times during such ringing to enable the full factorial number of changes to be achieved.

The plain course of Grandsire Doubles is shown, but it extends only to 30 different rows or changes. To extend to 120 rows, which is the maximum number of different rows possible on five bells, the "calls" known as Bobs and Singles are used. These are referred to as "calls", because they are called by the "conductor" according to a "composition" which has been memorised. The calls are made when the treble is in 3rds place approaching the lead,. A typical composition shown by the sequential treble leads to get 120 changes is: Plain, Bob, Plain, Bob, Plain, Single; repeated once. "Plain" means there is no call. There are 10 different compositions which can achieve this.

Grandsire is usually an odd-bell method and the following suffixes are used to describe it when the changes are rung on different numbers of bells. There is a normally a cover bell ringing in last place at each row, to add musicality and rhythm, but Grandsire may be rung without a cover.

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